William Sharp aquatint of five prisoners tied together

Object | Accession Number: 1995.132.61

Artwork Title: At Dawn (First State)
Date: creation: approximately 1930-1945
Language: English
Classification: Art
Category: Prints
Object Type: Aquatint (lcsh)
Credit Line: United States Holocaust Memorial Museum Collection, Gift of Harold Shachner

Physical Description: Aquatint. Image of 5 men, looking scared, standing in a line. Each man's hands are tied together, obviously these are prisoners. Man in the middle has his mouth open in a horrified expression. Print is taped to a board, cellophane is taped to the board over the print. A matte board is tape hinged to the top of the backboard, hole in matte to reveal image. Verso: White adhesive label in upper left corner with "30" typewritten on it.
Dimensions: overall: Height: 18.250 inches (46.355 cm) | Width: 14.250 inches (36.195 cm)
Materials: overall : paper, ink, mat board, adhesive, cellophane, graphite pencil
Markings: Recto, on matte board, lower edge, center, "not for sale" in graphite; Verso, on board: in top left quadrant, in graphite, "2702"
Signature: Recto, image: lower right corner "W Sharp" in graphite. Verso, board: "Wm Sharp" in ink in upper right quadrant
Inscription: Recto, image: lower left corner, in graphite, "At Dawn" -in quotes; to the right of quoted title, "(First State)", in graphite. Verso, on board: in ink, upper right quadrant, "Wm Sharp / 6620-108 St / Forest Hills, LI (sp?) / N.Y."
Contributor: Artist: William Sharp
Biography: Leon Schleifer was born in 1900 in Germany. He served in the German army at the end of World War I (1914-1918). He became a political cartoonist and his work was published in the anti-Nazi press. He also specialized in courtroom trial sketches. After the appointment of Hitler as Chancellor in 1933, Schliefer emigrated to the United States. He changed his name to William Sharp and continued his career as an editorial cartoonist and illustrator. His work was published in the New York Times, Life Magazine, and other publications. He died in 1961, age sixty-one years.
Legal Status: Permanent Collection
Provenance: The print was donated to the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum in 1995 by Harold Shachner.
Conditions on Access: No restrictions on access
Conditions on Use: No restrictions on use
: Record last modified: 2022-07-28 18:22:42
This page: https://collections.ushmm.org/search/catalog/irn9593